Mecklenburg

Mecklenburg’s Military from 1650 to 1719

including

Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Mecklenburg-Strelitz

and the cities of

Lübeck, Hamburg, Bremen & Rostock

by

Robert Hall (1st Edition 2003)


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Contents

CONTENTS ........................................................................................................................ 2

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 3

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ........................................................................................... 3

MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN ........................................................................................... 4 Lower Saxon Circle 1651-1705......................................................................................................................................4 The Dutch/French War on the French side .....................................................................................................................7 .. and on the allied side ...................................................................................................................................................9 The revised Matrikel of 1682 .......................................................................................................................................11 The Hungarian Campaign of 1688................................................................................................................................12 Troops existing in 1698 ................................................................................................................................................15

The War of the Spanish Succession...............................................................................................................................16 Subsidy contract with the Netherlands..........................................................................................................................16 Soldiers in Danish and Prussian pay.............................................................................................................................19 Mecklenburg’s troops for home defence ......................................................................................................................19 Uniforms.......................................................................................................................................................................20 Table of Uniforms 1701-1713 ......................................................................................................................................22 Trabants ........................................................................................................................................................................23 Flags and Standards ......................................................................................................................................................23

Table of actions ...............................................................................................................................................................24

The aftermath of the War and the Russian Adventure ...............................................................................................26 Carl Leopold’s Fall.......................................................................................................................................................27

List of Regiments.............................................................................................................................................................29

Mecklenburg-Strelitz ......................................................................................................................................................31

Lübeck..............................................................................................................................................................................32

Hamburg..........................................................................................................................................................................33 Stadtsoldaten.................................................................................................................................................................34 Flag of the Grenadier Company....................................................................................................................................36 Cavalry/Dragoons .........................................................................................................................................................36 Guidon of Dragoons .....................................................................................................................................................37

Bremen.............................................................................................................................................................................38

Sources and Bibliography ..............................................................................................................................................39

INDEX............................................................................................................................... 41


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Introduction

This document handles the history of the military formations in Mecklenburg from just after the end of the Thirty Years War until 1719, a year of historic importance in Mecklenburg-Schwerin. It is largely based on the work of my late friends, August Kühn in “Materialien zum spanischen Erbfolgekrieg”, part 26, and those of Claus-Peter Golberg together with Jean Belaubre with regard to the flags.

Their efforts have been extended to include the periods before and after the War of the Spanish Succession in order to give a complete picture of the army of some of the minor north German states of the period.

Historical background

Like many other German territories Mecklenburg suffered from the fact that brothers inherited the lands of their fathers as a group and subdivided them, leading to constant divisions, re-unifications and further subdivisions, defying any coherent relation of its history before the law of primogeniture was introduced in 1701.

Mecklenburg had been divided into the two lines of Güstrow and Schwerin on the death of Johann V in 1592, Güstrow being ruled by Johann-Albert II (1592-1636) and Schwerin by Adolf Frederick I (1592-1658). In 1636 Johann-Albert II was followed in Güstrow by Gustav-Adolf (1636-1695).

In Schwerin Adolf-Frederick was followed by Christian Louis (1658-1692) who had no children but three brothers: Frederick of Grabow (1658-1688) who had three sons, Johann-George of Mirow (1658-1675) and Adolf Frederick II (1658-1708) the later ruler of Strelitz. Each of the brothers received a portion of the territory with Christian Louis taking most of it.

Christian Louis I of Güstrow died in 1692 and the land fell to his nephew, Frederick William (born 1675), eldest son of Frederick of Grabow. Frederick William also had two brothers, Carl Leopold, who was to succeed him as Duke in 1713 (-1747), and Christian Louis II who was to succeed his brother in 1747 (-1756).

On the extinction of the house of Güstrow with the death of Duke Gustav Adolf on 26th October 1695 the land of Güstrow fell to Schwerin but not before further quarrels between the potential inheritors were settled. Frederick Wilhelm, reigning Duke of Schwerin established himself in Güstrow until he was driven out by an execution force of the Imperial Circle of Lower Saxony consisting of troops from Sweden, Brandenburg and Lüneburg on the 20th March 1697.

The succession dispute was finally settled in the Hamburger Compromise of 8th March 1701 with a new division of the land in which most of it fell to Duke Frederick William. Only then did the occupying forces of the Circle leave. The larger land of Mecklenburg-Schwerin under Frederick William (1675-1713) had an area of about 13100 square kilometres and around 150000 inhabitants. Duke Adolf Frederick II (1658-1708) was settled with the lands of Stargard, the principality of Ratzeburg and a seat and vote in the Reichs- and Kreistag (Imperial and Circle councils) under the name of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, a land of roughly 2900 square kilometres with about 56000 inhabitants. At the same time primogeniture was introduced and thus these two lands existed until 1918.

While all houses recognised the fundamental unity of the land as a whole, they watched each other jealously and were victims of the landed gentry in their estates who were only to glad to use any opportunity of playing one prince against the other.

In common with most of Germany, Mecklenburg had suffered severely in the Thirty Years War. In addition to the sufferings caused by marching Imperial and Swedish armies the Dukes had been


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deposed by the Emperor in 1628 for siding with Denmark. The Imperial General Wallenstein was named “Duke of Mecklenburg” in their stead. Only with Swedish support did they succeed in regaining their territory.

After the war Mecklenburg lost the port of Wismar, the island of Poel and the office of Neukloster to Sweden but received in return the duchy of Schwerin (earlier a bishopric), the principality of Ratzeburg and the lands of Mirow and Nemerow. The result was that Wismar became Sweden’s door to northern Germany, making Mecklenburg automatically a theatre of subsequent wars.

Arms of Mecklenburg (, -Schwerin and –Strelitz, after [Grote]):

Centre shield: County of Schwerin: red over gold. 1) Duchy of Mecklenburg: black bull’s head, crowned red, white horns, tongue sticking out,

frontal with neck pelt formed like a bat’s wing, on gold field. 2) Barony of Rostock: a golden griffon on blue. 3) Principality of Schwerin: field divided, above a golden griffon on blue, below green with a

silver border. 4) Principality of Ratzeburg: on red a silver cross beneath a golden crown. 5) Barony of Stargard: an arm emitting from a cloud and holding a ring on red field. 6) Principality of Wenden, Slavia (Werle): as for 1) but with the head sideways without the neck

pelt.

Helmets: centre 3), Mecklenburg: fan of black, yellow, red, white, blue staffs below a peacock’s tail, surmounted with the bull’s head, 1) Duchy of Mecklenburg, 2) Schwerin: red/gold buffalo horns, 4) Rostock: gold and blue wings, 5) Principality of Ratzeburg.

Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Güstrow were considered as one territory within the Lower Saxon Circle and contributed a common contingent to the circle. Otherwise they were independent states with their own lifeguards and garrison troops. While the landed estates were obliged to contribute to the imperial circle, they were not obliged to do so for the Prince’s own forces. The difficulty lay in the definition of what was good for the defence of the land and what was the Duke’s personal affair. The landed gentry were also constantly afraid that a strong military could be used to enforce the Duke’s will against them.

Lower Saxon Circle 1651-1705

Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a state of the Imperial Circle of Lower Saxony. In theory all territories of the Circle had to contribute in money or men to its defence, but after the Thirty Years War it had become an area full of internal contradictions and impending conflicts. The Archdiocese of Magdeburg and the Diocese of Halberstadt had gone into the possession of Brandenburg-Prussia, the Diocese of Hildesheim was a part of the Electorate of Cologne under Wittelsbach rule, Sweden had taken possession of the erstwhile Archdiocese of Bremen and Verden. Denmark had inherited the half of Holstein and thus became a state of the German Empire. The Dukes of Brunswick were the most powerful members of the circle, then in the lines of Brunswick-Celle, Brunswick-Calenburg (Hanover) and Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. The major free imperial cities of Hamburg and Bremen neither took part in the activities of the Circle nor did they contribute to its finances. The result was a circle likely to be affected by any northern European conflict.

The table below is an example of the “Matrikel” or quantum of men or money to be supplied by each territory to the defence of the circle and empire in war and to preserving order or enforcing imperial law in peacetime. It was based on a so-called “simplum” which was doubled or trebled in wartime. In


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1652 the house of Brunswick was elected to most of the important offices of the circle. Mecklenburg was the base of resistance to the Brunswick recommendation to retain the Circle military at a quadruplum, four times the quantum, and achieved a reduction to the duplum or twice the quantum, with the argument that the higher quantum would be too much for the people. In fact 600 horse and 2055 foot were agreed in 1654.

When in 1657 the Danes invaded the duchy of Bremen and the Swedes drove them out just as quickly, leaving only Bremervörde in Danish hands, the Circle offered to support Sweden. The duplum was increased to a triplum, three times the quantum. By the time the troops were available the war was over and the Danes had agreed to abandon Bremervörde. The Mecklenburg troops didn’t march at all.

The first record of a unified dress is to be found on 23rd April 1659 when a delivery of 300 ells of red cloth was made for the Mecklenburg-Güstrow infantry.

The next test of the Circle was the Turkish war of 1663-64 for which a triplum was agreed and to leave in March 1664, and another triplum to remain in the Circle. The “Matrikel” or quantum agreed on 6th January 1664 was as follows:

Estates of the Circle Triplum

horse foot actual strength horse foot

Magdeburg 129 588 100 675 Bremen duchy 72 300 105 201 Wolfenbüttel 73 315 106 216 Celle 75 360 108 261 Calenberg 67 351 100 252 Halberstadt 42 198 42 198 Hildesheim 54 197 54 197 Mecklenburg-Schwerin land 60 100 60 100 Mecklenburg-Güstrow 60 100 60 100 Gottorp 60 120 50 150 Denmark 60 120 50 150 Lübeck diocese 9 0 9 0 Schwerin duchy (Meckl.) 18 18 18 18 Ratzeburg (Meckl.) 3 9 3 9 Lauenburg 24 90 25 90 Rantzau 3 6 3 6 Lübeck city 31 265 31 265 Goslar city 0 90 0 90 Mühlhausen city 0 120 0 120 Nordhausen city 0 60 0 60 841 3409 924 3160

The contingents were formed into regiments as follows:

1st Regiment of Horse 924 men Standards black with silver 1st Regiment of Foot 1602 men Flags yellow 2nd Regiment of Foot 1422 men Flags blue 2nd Regiment of Horse 516 men Standards green with silver 3rd Regiment of Foot 1834 men Flags red


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In actual fact Mecklenburg only contributed 100 horse under Lt. Col. von Schack and 200 foot under Captain von Bibow. The infantry was a company of the regiment under Col. Rudolf von Ende from Magdeburg, the 3rd regiment of foot. One third of the foot carried pikes, the rest muskets.

The companies marched to the rendezvous at Großen-Salza were attached to their regiments and marched to Vienna by way of Thüringen, Vogtland, Bohemia and lower Austria crossing the Danube at Vienna on 16th June. After being mustered by the Margrave of Baden they went on to Hungary where they fought in the battle of St. Gotthard on 1st August 1664, being among the first to attack and loosing their colonel in the battle. The squadrons of von Schack lost 3 officers and 8 troopers dead, 2 NCOs and 39 troopers missing, of these 4 Mecklenburgers. The regiment von Ende had lost not only the colonel but was almost destroyed. Only two officers were left, Captain Wiesener and the Mecklenburger Captain von Bibow who took over command of the rest. His company had lost 2 officers, 3 NCOs and 68 men dead or missing. By the end of September the horse had only 25 men primaplana and 66 troopers, the foot only 2 officers and 74 NCOs and other ranks. After the peace of Vasvar they were sent home on 13th October, the infantry reaching Mecklenburg on 12th, the cavalry on 15th December.

Soldier 1664

Uniforms

The Dukes had decided to clothe their men in grey coats with tin buttons. The Güstrow contingent wore yellow/blue ribbons. The dress included a hat, leather breeches, grey stockings and shoes. Waistcoats and cloaks were not provided but the coats reached down to the knee. If the clothing of troops within an estate of the circle were uniform, this was not the case within the regiment. For instance, in Numer’s company which was made up of men from Mecklenburg, Lauenburg, Lübeck and the county of Rantzau, the Mecklenburgers wore grey, the Lübeckers red, and the Lauenburgers green coats. A bill for the clothing of the contingent was as follows:

4 ½ ells of grey cloth for coat and stockings : 2 Taler 12 Sch.

5 ½ ells Boy as lining 44 Sch. 4 ells of canvas 14 Sch. 1 pair of leather breeches 1 Taler -- Sch. 1 pair of shoes 36 Sch. 1 hat 24 Sch. For sacks, silk, thread, 2 dozen tin buttons

22 Sch Sum 5 Taler 46 Sch. Drummer 1664


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Each company carried a flag. The red flag of the Mecklenburg contingent had the motto “A Jehova Victoria” and an emblem of a hand coming out of a cloud. The company flags had different emblems and the colonel’s flag was always white.

The horse in the Schack squadron wore leather jackets (Koller), leather breeches, tall wide boots, helmets or hats. The cuirass had already fallen out of use in northern Germany during the Thirty Years War. In 1664 the Reichstag had demanded that the horsemen have front and back cuirasses. Lt. Col. Schack wrote from Vienna “He (Markgraf Louis of Baden) also talked a lot to us about armour. We excused ourselves saying that we were not used to it and that the great heat in Hungary as well as a light and agile enemy rendered it useless; a true German heart would always get farther with his courage than with armour.”

The squadron sent to Hungary had a green standard with silver fringes.

Pikeman 1675

The Dutch/French War on the French side

The above mentioned triplum was confirmed by the Circle in 1671 but only a third of the contingents turned up at the muster on 21st May 1672. The final strength of the regiments was to be:

1st Regiment of Horse 498 men in 6 companies 2nd Regiment of Horse 502 men in 6 companies 1st Regiment of Foot 1000 men in 8 companies 2nd Regiment of Foot 1000 men in 8 companies

In this case Mecklenburg also contributed only a reduced contingent.

Duke Christian Louis I, an admirer of Louis XIV, spent most of his time in Paris and decided to support the French king’s war on his own account. On 21st February 1672 he ordered 12 companies of horse to be raised in addition to his Life Guard, which was also doubled. Each company was to be made up of 1 captain, 1 lieutenant, 1 cornet, 1 quartermaster, 3 corporals, 1 barber/surgeon, 1 clerk, 1 saddler, 1 smith, 1 trumpeter and 70 troopers, in all 82 men. A company of dragoons was also raised. One squadron of cavalry (4 companies, 253 men) was handed over to Denmark on 21st October 1672 and served as the basis for the regiment of Ulrich Friedrich Gyldenlove, which became the Life-Regiment of cavalry in 1673 and took part in the battles of Lund (1676) and Lanskrona (1677).

The other 8 companies embarked on the Elbe and were shipped to Holland where they arrived in July. The French had made dramatic progress and, feeling they didn’t need any support, looked askance at the latecomers who they regarded as just being in it to take the rewards earned by them. The Duke decided to leave only 3 companies, a “life-squadron” of 156 men, with the French and to send the rest to the French allies in Germany. On 15th July 5 companies under Colonel Halberstadt left to join the forces of Cologne/Münster at the siege of Groningen where they arrived on 1st August. They were dismounted and sent into the trenches, which did not suit them at all. The advance of the Brandenburg army caused the siege to be broken off on 27th August. The Mecklenburgers had lost only one man. From there they joined the army of Cologne at Steenwyk. Bad weather and the marching lead to desertion. At the start of October they were sent to Lippstadt in Westphalia with the dragoons under Col. von Bibow remaining in the Netherlands but coming to Germany for


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winterquarters in November. In December Halberstadt received orders to take 2 standards and 150 men of the regiment to St. Tönnies and there to take command of the Cologne cavalry.

Meanwhile in Westphalia the dragoons had been besieged by the Brandenburgers in the town of Werl. With the support of the citizens they succeeded in driving off the besiegers after 10 days. The cavalry companies were also active, protecting a pass over the Ruhr River at Freudenberg and, after skirmishes with the Brandenburgers, withdrawal to Meschede. Without support from their allies the Brandenburger army was forced to withdraw. On this occasion 30 men of the Brandenburg regiment of horse, Duke Frederick of Mecklenburg under the brother of the Duke, took the opportunity to desert to their countrymen on the other side.

The squadron, which had remained with the French army in Holland, had other troubles. Left alone by Christian Louis who had gone to Paris with Louis XIV, they were afraid of ending up in French regiments. During a fight with Frenchmen on a march on 11th August a Mecklenburg trooper pointed a pistol at Turenne who had come to settle the disruption. The man was hanged the next day. They were even reluctant to accept pay from the French for fear of it being taken as enlistment. When Turenne’s army crossed the Rhine into Germany at Wesel on 10th September desertion to the Brandenburg army jumped. By 29th September 3 corporals and 66 men had deserted, the remainder hardly enough to defend the 3 standards. They marched with Turenne down to the Moselle, crossing the Rhine at Andernach and moving into the Electorate of Trier only to head down the Rhine when the news arrived that the Prince of Orange was marching to meet the Brandenburgers. On 5th January they reached Bonn and by 23rd Neuß, in the meantime combined into a single company. Great annoyance was caused when Antoine de Pas, Marquis de Feuquières was named Maître de Camp. The officers and men demanded their release, which was answered by a demand from Turenne that the captains invest 2000 Francs to rebuild and reequip their companies. They refused and Turenne ordered that the men be put into Schomberg’s regiment. Finally on 22nd March the order came from the Duke to release them from French service. Three days later they arrived at Meschede where the regiment of Halberstadt was stationed. Here the regiment was rebuilt with the 8 NCOs, 2 trumpeters and 44 troopers left over from the French companies. The dragoons went into service of Cologne. At the start of April 1673 Halberstadt was sent to Hildesheim with his men. Here they succeeded in breaking up a Dutch freecorps under a commander Wrangel who escaped with over 4000 Talers of his booty. In June Halberstadt set off with 28 companies back to Wesel but was ordered back to Dortmund to meet the Cologne forces under Marquis de Renel and then to join the army under Turenne who was at Wetzlar. They moved toward the Main and were mustered by the Elector of Cologne on 23rd September, altogether 60 companies of cavalry with 401 men in the Mecklenburg regiment. They moved up the Main into Franconia where they took part in the actions of Turenne against the Austrians. The old dragoon company was reattached to the regiment and a company from Cologne departed.

Meanwhile the Franconian states had declared for the Emperor and he formally recalled all German troops from French service, which embarrassed both the Duke in Paris and his regiment. The Duke sent orders that they were to avoid getting involved in combat with the Imperial forces – difficult to follow as they were in the middle of the French army. He definitely prohibited them from going home where they would cost him money. They went with the army back across the Rhine, reaching winterquarters along with the Cologne troops around Metz and Sedan, leaving sick in Metz and Verdun, only in January 1674. From here they were called to Neuß and from there Halberstadt was ordered to go to Hildesheim. They could not make it since the way was blocked by allied forces. Finally Cologne released the regiment on the repeated requests of the Duke and Halberstadt, paying only one month instead of the 6 months due to the officers and the 4 months due to the men. On 13th April the regiment was disbanded. This was the only campaign against the Kaiser but that same year new troops were to march against the erstwhile ally France.


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.. and on the allied side

Only two weak companies of horse had been left at home when the regiment had left for France. One was designated as “Reich” company (56 men, for the defence of the Holy Roman Empire), the other as “Kreis”company (58 men, for the defence of the Circle) and the Leibgarde of 27 men. There were also two companies of infantry totalling 199 men.

A force of 100 cavalry and 1000 infantry was sent to Hildesheim to replace the occupying Brandenburg and Imperial troops or at least to limit their activities. Hildesheim, in personal union under the Elector of Cologne, was caught in the conflict between France, Cologne and Münster on one side and the Emperor, Brandenburg and Holland on the other. On the peace of 12th August 1674 they left the town again. Both Mecklenburg duchies sent a united company under Lt. Col. Joachim Friedrich von Barner consisting of 8 men primaplana and 61 privates besides a corporal and 12 troopers on horse.

With the argument, that the Empire had not agreed, the Emperor’s demand that the Circle support him was not accepted. In fact the Empire had already declared war on France on 25th April 1674 but Sweden, an ally of France, hindered the Circle from actively taking sides. The result was that some estates already had their forces in the field, some such as Swedish Bremen, refused and others just prevaricated.

Mecklenburg demanded Circle troops to defend its towns from the Swedes, who had just invaded Brandenburg, and the Swedes had the cheek to ask the Circle for support to defend the duchy of Bremen.

Cavalry 1675

Despite or because of Christian Louis’ support for the French, Schwerin and Güstrow made up an Imperial contingent of 25 primaplana and 97 troopers on horse and a company of foot with 19 man primaplana and 105 privates. They were sent as contingent to join the Hanoverian contingents at Kassel, marching by way of Hanau and Aschaffenburg to Heilbronn where they arrived in December 1674. From there they were ordered to the Neckar but arrived too late for the battle of Türkheim. They spent the summer of 1675 marching and counter-marching in Swabia, crossing the Rhine with Montecuccoli at Kehl on 7th August. From there the cavalry was ordered to bring 400 French prisoners to Eßlingen and then to Heilbronn to combat enemy raiders. The armies of the warring parties marching across Mecklenburg had made supporting the troops impossible and the cavalry, which had not been paid for months, mutinied. The commander, Lt. Col. Vieregge, received orders to begin negotiations with the Emperor to take over the companies. The Markgraf of Baden declared he would take the men into his pay until Mecklenburg could pay it back. Here the men refused to obey, saying they had been sworn in as Mecklenburg troops on the standards, which Vieregge was to take home. They took the standards from his quarters and rode off, ignoring the advice of their officers and attracting 12 men from Lauenburg who were in the same situation. They set out to march home by way of Heilbronn, Ochsenfurt and Magdeburg, ordinary troopers riding in advance as quartermasters and demanding free accommodation in the villages. On the way they plundered the occasional goods train. The officers, receiving an orderly dismissal from the army, followed them with the remainder of the troops, catching up on them at Nordheim in Hanoverian territory. The deserters willingly gave back the flags and placed themselves under orders. They were not punished


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for desertion because they had not been obliged to go into foreign service and it was taken into account that they wanted to return home knowing that the land could not pay them.

The infantry had been ordered to Willstadt opposite Strassburg, which had declared neutrality. The Imperial marshal negotiated with the city to take over the three Lower Saxon companies which were sworn in on 25th March 1675, standing in the trenches beside 2 Swiss and 3 Strassburg companies, the latter being replaced by 4 further Swiss companies. The whole group was under the command of the Mecklenburg Lt. Col. Rolshausen. In August Strassburg declared it could not pay the troops so it was agreed that Hanover and Lauenburg would pay their companies and the Mecklenburg company would be paid by Strassburg. When the Hanoverian and Lauenburger companies were ordered away to occupy Mühlberg. The town refused to keep the Mecklenburg company and it was sent home with only half the original number of men.

The next meeting of the Circle on 22nd March 1677 found the estates sharply divided between the Swedish and Danish parties. A 5 x triplum or 4,615 horse and 15,115 horse was agreed but was not actually raised – it served as monetary support for the allies against Sweden. Mecklenburg, unable to raise the 600 horse and 1068 foot that this would have meant, signed agreements with Duke Georg Wilhelm of Celle and Rudolf August of Wolfenbüttel that these would raise the contingents and be paid by Mecklenburg. The Brunswickers took more than their fair share from this agreement, demanding apart from the monetary support the supply of bread and forage as well as quarters. On the other hand secret clauses allowed a portion of the money which was paid by the estates to go back directly to the Dukes of Mecklenburg. The presence of forces belonging to a large power also offered the land a degree of security it would not have had if only its own forces were present. The significant amount of money, which was returned directly to the Dukes, enabled these to support their lifeguards and fortresses.

The Swedish war of 1675/79 hit the land hard and lead to an increase in the garrisons to resist the intrusions of Denmark and Sweden. In December 1679 Schwerin fielded a Guard on horse of 61 men, the Kreis Company also 61, the Schwerin garrison 149 men, Dömitz garrison 161 men, Rostock garrison 81 men. Güstrow fielded: Garde zu Pferde 90, Leibgarde zu Fuß 220, garrison Rostock 90 and staff 11 men.

Uniforms

In 1672 the Duke of Güstrow had his entire infantry newly clothed in red while the Schwerin troops stayed with grey. The Güstrow men wore blue and yellow ribbons on their hats and shoulders while those of Schwerin wore red and white ribbons.

In 1678 the Güstrow Company of Barner in Rostock was clothed in grey again but with red lining, cuffs and stockings.

Pikes were only carried in the field. Garrison companies did not use them.

The cavalrymen wore instead of cloaks so called “pie coats” which were closed down the front and were pulled on over the head like a carter’s overall. The term “pie coat” indicates that they were two- or multicoloured but the first sign of a uniform dress is found in 1672 in the schabraques or saddlecloths of the Schweriner Guards, which were red with white fringes. Keubke gives the cavalry sent to France as clothed in grey while the Lifeguard Company was blue.

The Schweriner lifegurard carried a white standard with gold embroidery in 1672.


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The revised Matrikel of 1682

In 1682 the imperial Matrikel or quantum was revised to better match the times and a peacetime standing army of 40,000 agreed, in wartime 120,000 of which Lower Saxony was to raise 1,965 horse and 4,010 foot. This was the last formal meeting of the Circle since the most powerful members could not agree. The situation of Mecklenburg was typical of the non-armed members of the circles – the armed members, in this case Brunswick-Hanover and Brandenburg-Prussia simply decided what quantum the various estates had to contribute and demanded the equivalent in money from these.

The 1682 quantum was divided as follows: Territory Cavalry due Infantry due Prussia for Magdeburg 306 730 Prussia for Halberstadt 100 246 Sweden for duchy of Bremen 171 372 Electorate Cologne for Hildesheim 128 245 Hanover-Celle for Calenberg 160 437 Hanover-Celle for Grubenhagen 36 0 Saxony-Lauenburg 57 111 Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel 160 391 “ “ for Blankenburg 7 0 Mecklenburg-Schwerin 142 124 “ for the ex-diocese of Schwerin 29 or 34 15 or 19 “ for the ex-diocese of Ratzeburg 7 12 Mecklenburg-Güstrow 142 124 Denmark for Holstein 142 150 Duchy of Holstein-Gottorp 142 150 Diocese of Lübeck 22 0 Imperial city of Lübeck 50 or 60 220 or 275 Imperial city of Goslar 0 56 Imperial city of Mühlhausen 0 75 Imperial city of Nordhausen 0 37

According to the moderation of Worms 1544/45 the entire duchy was to contribute a triplum of 120 horse and 201 foot. This was reduced by the contingents for the areas occupied by Sweden:

Town of Wismar 6 11 Isle of Poel, Office of Neukloster 1 3

Uniforms

In 1684 all the men were newly uniformed in light grey with blue facings and stockings. The drummers were clothed in red.

The Güstrow Garde zu Pferde (Horseguard) after 1680 wore buff waistcoats with crimson cuffs, silver lace, leather breeches, over it a red cloak with blue lining and collar, black hats with silver edging. The saddlecloth and holster-covers were red with white silk fringes. It may be assumed that they wore this uniform until disbanded in 1701.

Soldier in overcoat 1700


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The Hungarian Campaign of 1688

Güstrow began to raise its strength in 1686 from 2 companies to a regiment under Col. Ernst Christian von Oesterling with capitulation dated 17th June 1687. The already created four companies each gave 30 men to form a fifth or colonel’s company which gave all companies a strength of 120 men each. In the autumn a further four companies were raised as well as three cavalry companies. A contract with the Emperor of 12th January 1686 obliged Güstrow to make a force of 1000 foot and 3 companies of cavalry available against the Turks. Note that these companies did not carry pikes. The grenadiers, fusiliers and Gefreiten or lance-corporals carried flintlocks instead of muskets. all men were issued with bayonets. The companies of horse had 66 other ranks and the companies of infantry 125. On 1st May the regiment was mustered and marched through Brandenburg to Silesia where it arrived at the start of June, already weakened by heavy desertion. The Lt. Colonel was cashiered because his company had not been complete from the start and the dress was completely inadequate. The march continued in rain but desertion let up the further they went from home. They reached the Danube at Comorn, were embarked onto boats and brought downriver to Belgrade,which was under siege by Max Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria. The regiment, known as “Kaiserlich-Mecklenburg” joined the brigade of General Wallis on the right on 21st August 1688. Many men, unused to the climate, had fallen ill and hardly 25 or 30 were serviceable in a company. The cavalry, which had followed by land, arrived on 31st August and was assigned to the Imperial cuirassier regiment of Caraffa. The role of the Mecklenburgers in the subsequent storm of the citadelle is unknown but the infantry was afterward part of the garrison, having lost many men to sickness. On 31st October it received orders to come home and went back up the Danube and then through Moravia taking may of the sick with it. At the end of January 1689 it arrived in Mecklenburg and the companies were spread among the towns. The strength was formally reduced to two companies.

The cavalry was handed over to the service of Brandenburg-Prussia by a contract of 25th April 1689. The strength of the army remained thus until the death of Duke Gustav Adolf on 26th October 1695. All existing companies were then sworn in to obey the temporary provincial government set in place by the Emperor until the question of succession was resolved. In the following differences with the occupying troops of the Lower Saxon Circle the Güstrow soldiers took the side of Frederick William until he was driven out of Güstrow on 20th March 1697. Then they were sworn in to the “House of Mecklenburg under command of the tendering Princes” i.e. the leaders of the Lower Saxon Circle and were largely disbanded at the start of 1698.

At the beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession on 18th November 1702 Swedish-Bremen and Celle simply set the quantum themselves based on the 120,000 man Reichs-Army to 3,374 horse and 6,498 foot and divided it amongst the other members of the Circle, despite hefty protests from the Estates, including Prussia.

These pressures made it interesting for Mecklenburg to re-enter the group of armed estates. When the Güstrow line died out and both parts of Mecklenburg were united in 1701 the land was also in a better position to realise this goal.

Soldier 1703


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The trade with soldiers

The upkeep of the standing army was to be earned by subsidies from the leasing powers and the landed gentry was called upon to support the imperial contingents. Apart from earning money it also raised the standing of the prince in the eyes of the Emperor and other powers.

Mecklenburg already had a short history of rental contracts. The first was on 7th October 1672 when Duke Christian Louis raised 6 companies of horse in addition to those already on the Rhine. When Lüneburg refused to let them pass they were passed into Danish service with 4 companies of together 12 officiers and 241 NCOs and men being handed over for 5784 Talers. The other 2 companies remained in the land as imperial contingents but when their support proved too great a burden one was handed over to Celle by Schwerin on 19th August 1682 for 50 Talers per man and horse. The Duke Gustav Adolf of Güstrow made a similar contract with Brandenburg-Prussia for his two companies of horse of 50 men each, which had served in Hungary the previous years. In a secret clause the Duke was allowed to deduct 10,000 Talers, 2 monthly rates, from the subsidy amount.

Apart from the contracts for complete units Schwerin also made a contract with Württemberg on 4th May 1695 to hand over 3 corporals and 97 men from the garrisons.

In the spring of 1672 Bernhard von Galen, Bishop of Münster, signed a contract with the Duke for 300 cavalrymen in 4 companies at a cost of 45 Taler per man. This contract was not ratified by the bishop because the men could not be raised in time for his start of campaigning.

On 12th January 1686 the Duke of Güstrow signed a contract with the Emperor for a regiment of horse of 6 companies and 2 regiments of infantry of 1000 men. The Duke of Schwerin was also foreseen to contribute but if he did not wish to do so the number of men was to be reduced by half. Since Brandenburg was still in occupation of the land in 1686 and 1687 Güstrow had to pay the default of 25,000 Taler, which the Emperor promptly transferred to Brandenburg as part of the subsidy monies he owed it. Schwerin also refused to take part. Finally in 1688 the regiments were raised and taken on by the Emperor for less favourable conditions. They only served one campaign in Hungary under Col. Ernst Christian von Oesterling [1687/02], returned home and were disbanded, the troopers going to Brandenburg.

While Christian Louis I tended to make contracts guided by political considerations, his nephew and successor Fredrick William aimed to make it a source of income for the land on his accession in 1692. The ports of Hamburg, Lübeck and Rostock were sources of ready recruits amongst the seamen and adventurers to be found there. Mecklenburg itself was a land rich in good horses. His first attempts to offer units to the Netherlands in 1693 and to Saxony-Poland in 1698 were not successful.

Only with the approach of the Spanish Succession conflict did he have success. The extinction of the house of Güstrow with the death of Duke Gustav Adolf in 1695 and the unification of the two states of Mecklenburg provided a more solid foundation even though it was only in 1701 that the land finally fell to Duke Frederick William. After the Imperial law court had ruled that the landed estates were to pay the support of the garrison in the fortress of Dömitz on 7th July 1698, Duke Frederick William saw himself in a position of being able to devote more to raising an army than had previously been the case on the basis of the fiscal purse. The landed gentry regarded the lifeguard and garrisons of the fortresses as ducal lackeys and not as soldiers, hence they refused to support them. The unification of the two lines also deprived the gentry of the opportunity to play one house against the other which they had previously done in several situations.


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Duke Frederick William had to look around for a subsidiser since a dragoon regiment was to be raised as a basis of income for his brother Duke Karl Leopold, cut off from inheritance through the introduction of primogeniture. First negotiations with King August I of Poland-Saxony in 1698 failed but those with the Dutch States General in 1701 brought the desired success.


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Troops existing in 1698

On the 15th Dec. 1698 the Mecklenburger military consisted of:

Garde zu Pferde (Horseguard) 1 major, 2 lieutenants, 1 auditor, 1 quartermaster, 1 trumpeter, 3 corporals, 50 privates and 4 fouriers (officers servants) = 63 men

Garrison of Schwerin = 185 men Garrison of Dömitz = 186 men Garrison of Mirow = 8 men

On 17th/18th January 1699 the order was given to increase the 3 larger garrisons by enlisting 100 to 120 men. The new Major-General Detlev von Schwerin was empowered to commission further officers. By July there was already a compete regiment of 8 companies of 100 men each including the primaplana. In March 1700 25 men were recruited into each company and from these 2 new companies were formed, two of the old companies being converted to grenadiers. The regiment, now with 2 battalions, was put under the command of Colonel von Buchwald. [1699/01]

On the 1st June 1700 the military strength consisted of: Garde zu Pferde Major Barner = 63 men 1. battalion 1. comp. Col. von Buchwald = 100 men 2. Grenadiercomp. Lt.Col Ahlefeld = 100 men

3. comp. Major Hoyer = 100 men 4. comp. Captain J. H. Praetorius = 100 men 5. comp. Captain F. H. Praetorius = 100 men

2. battalion 1. comp. Major Schwerin = 100 men 2. Grenadiercomp. Capt. Berckholz = 100 men

3. comp. Captain Koppern = 100 men 4. comp. Captain H. F. Graevenitz = 100 men 5. comp. Captain F. W. Graevenitz = 100 men

Staff in fortresses and artillery: Schwerin: 2 fireworkers, 3 constables, 1 corporal,

1 wallsetter? 6 oboists, 1 provost = 14 men Bützow: 3 constables, 1 provost = 4 men Dömitz : 1 engineer lieutenant, 1 building

administrator, 1 major, 1 lieutenant, 1 provost, 1 barber, 1 wallsetter?, 1 captain-lieutenant, 1 fireworker, 1 park administrator, 8 constables = 18 men

Mirow: 1 corporal, 1 lance-corporal, 6 men = 8 men Kriegskasse: 1 commissary, 1 clerk = 2 men

This totals to a complete strength of = 1109 men

The wallsetter was probably a mason. The captain-lieutenant was a captain commanding the colonel’s company in his absence.


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The War of the Spanish Succession

Subsidy contract with the Netherlands

To help finance this rapidly developing military force the Duke took up negotiations with Netherlands to lease troops. To create the 2 contracted regiments colonel Buchwald had first to increase each of the 10 companies by 30 men and later yet again by 20 men and 3 drummers. On 30th March the company of the Circle contingent of Captain Klinckowström entered the service of Schwerin. On 5th and 6th April a further 3 officers were each commissioned to raise a company complete with primaplana and 36 men within 6 weeks.

On the 18th May 1701 the regiment was mustered in Dömitz and split again. On that day it consisted of 41 officers, 32 sergeants, 50 N.C.O.s, 49 corporals, 43 drummers and 1140 privates. It was reformed into:

Regiment of foot Colonel Buchwald [1699/01]= 840 men Regiment of foot Lt. General Schwerin = 840 men

On 20th May both regiments were taken into Dutch pay. They were brought down the Elbe to Hamburg on large boats and there they embarked on ships for the Netherlands where they were mustered by the commissaries on 10th June and set out to march to Arnheim on 23rd June. There they remained only 18 days before the regiment Schwerin was sent to garrison Deventer and Buchwald [1699/01] was to garrison Zwolle. But because the allied Palatine was sorely pressed by the French, the “Imperial-Netherlands troops” as the Mecklenburgers were named for diplomatic reasons, were sent to other places, Schwerin first going to Jülich and in December to Düsseldorf, the regiment Buchwald going by way of Lennig in the duchy of Berg to the city of Cologne on the Rhine. The regiment of Schwerin was in the pay of the Province of Overijssel, that of Buchwald in the pay of the Province of Holland.

Corporal 1703

From 1st January 1702 the States General took on the entire staff “on Lüneburg field footing” (as for the Hanoverians), i.e.:

Colonel (attached to the 1st comp.) Lt. Colonel (attached to the 2nd comp.) Major (attached to the 3rd comp.) 1 regimental quartermaster 1 adjutant 1 regimental chaplain 1 auditor 1 regimental surgeon 1 regimental drummajor 4 barber apprentices 4 musicians 1 provost 1 provosts mate

Giving a staff together with the higher officers a regimental staff of 19, which would previously have been 16 men. Each company was made up of:

1 captain (except in the 1st , 2nd and 3rd companies – see above)


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1 lieutenant 1 ensign 2 sergeants 2 drummers 1 solictor (company clerk) 3 fouriers (officers’ servants – actually assistants to the quartermaster) 1 capitain d’armes (warrant officer – actually armourer) 3 corporals 10 lance-corporals 8 grenadiers 51 musketeers/privates = 84 men in 10 companies giving a total of = 840 men

After 1st January 1704 each company was allowed to have 8 vacant positions to “be able to pay the high interests of the Provinces”. Thereafter the regiment, including the 16 men of the lower staff, counted only 776 men. (This is given so exactly because the subsidy contract with the Netherlands was used to serve as an example for other contracts.)

The regiment of Schwerin took part in the battle of Höchstädt/Blenheim where an interesting incident took place. In the battle of Blenheim the regiment Schwerin was commanded by Captain Ernst Heinrich von Bohlen who had lost his right hand in the campaign against France in 1696 and now wore an artificial iron hand. While he was leading the unit in person, holding the flag in his left and a sword in the right, a pellet of case-shot took away his artificial hand. He continued the attack on a battery. Only after the battle did he mount his horse to ride back to the baggage wagons. He was rudely halted by Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau who asked him what he thought he was doing. Bohlen answered coolly: “They shot my hand off, but the dogs didn’t know I keep a spare one in the equipment wagon!” Bohlen, who came from the island of Rügen, later became colonel of the regiment and died in 1717 as commander of the town of Schwerin. After the battle the regiment was ordered to take 1300 French and Bavarian prisoners back to Mainz. Which it did, arriving there on 17th September and handing them over to English troops who escorted

them to Holland.

Cavalry 1703

After the departure of the subsidy regiments in spring 1701 Mecklenburg was left devoid of troops except for the Leibgarde zu Pferde, which was not suitable for manning fortresses, and this in a situation where in the immediate neighbourhood the Great Northern War between Denmark and Sweden was threatening. With the few men left behind because of their inability to march serving as the nucleus, new garrisons were to be raised, these being: Schwerin and Bützow company of captain Praetorius Dömitz company of captain Lanckau

At the end of May and start of June the captains von der Lühe, von Bülow and von Winterfeld were commissioned to each raise a company of 100 to 150 men. In March 1702 two further companies


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were raised by Captains Schütze and Bernhard. On 31st March 1702 Lt. Colonel Gustav Karl von Maltzahn received command over the companies already raised and was to raise his own company with primaplana and 50 men by September, for which he got an additional 43 men from the company Perckentin (previously Winterfeld).

On 14th June 1702 captain Buggenhagen received an additional 50 men from the company von der Lühe for the Dömitz garrison. Colonel du Puits also enlisted 100 men from 3rd September onwards for a garrison company in Rostock (not including primaplana).

(In earlier times the two lines had divided the ownership of Rostock between them. The town had however claimed for itself the “jus praesidii”, i.e. the right of keeping its own garrison. Only in the year 1701 under the threat of the Northern War between his neighbours, did Duke Frederick William negotiate with the town council of Rostock to allow the stationing of a ducal unit within its walls.

Uniforms Rostock

For its defense the town of Rostock – added here for the sake of completion – had, besides the citizen militia in the quarters, as was usual in all large towns, its own company of Stadtsoldaten in pay. Since 1693 these soldiers, known locally as the “Kräwt” or “Lobsters” were uniformed on the typical model of the Hanseatic cities: coat and cuffs red, stockings and neck-cloths blue, buff breeches, (buttons probably tin) black shoes and tricorns, buff cartridge pouch and sword belts worn crossed over the breast.)

Regiments of Horse

Already in October 1701 the Leibgarde zu Pferde had been very reduced and was disbanded entirely in May 1702. On the other hand the troopers served as the nucleus of 6 companies of dragoons raised by captain von Barner and by 1st March 1702 they were ready, each of 100 men. The two companies recruited additionally were under command of Lt. Col. von Krassow and Lt. Col. Meerheimb. On 1st September 1702 further recruitment and reform lead to the creation of a regiment of horse out of Meerheimb’s dragoons and the regiment of dragoons went by lot to von Krassow.

Strength of the regiment of horse of Meerheimb 1st Sept. 1702 [1702/01]:

Regimental staff: Regt. quartermaster, auditor, chaplain, adjutant, surgeon, kettledrummer, regt. provost = 7 men

6 companies each: 1 captain (1st and 2nd commanded by the colonel and major) 1 lieutenant

5 NCOs (quartermaster-sergeant, barber, sergeant-major, 2 corporals) 1 trumpeter 2 articers 50 troopers

altogether 61 men in 6 companies = 366 staff = 7 Total for the regiment = 373 men.

In spring each company was increased by a further 5 men and in 1706 a further 6 on four companies so that the total strength was reduced to 339 men and in 1707 to 331 men.

On 5th September the Meerheimb regiment of horse [1702/01] went as Mecklenburger Imperial contingent to the corps under Fieldmarshall-Lieutenant Prince of Saxony-Meiningen of the Kronweißenburger-Lauterburger line.


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Soldiers in Danish and Prussian pay

Although the infantry regiment Maltzahn [1702/02] which had been created from the garrison companies was supposed to follow the Imperial contingent to the upper Rhein, it was first held back for the defence of Mecklenburg and then on 18th May 1703, again at Dömitz, handed over into Danish pay. It consisted of: Regimental staff: Regt. quartermaster, auditor, chaplain, adjutant,

auditor, provost = 5 men 5 companies each: 1 captain (1st commanded by Lt. Col. Maltzahn)

1 lieutenant 1 ensign 1 capitain d’armes 2 sergeants 1 fourier 1 clerk 1 barber 3 corporals 2 drummers 86 privates

altogether 100 men in 5 companies = 500 staff = 5 the battalion altogether = 505 men

The regiment of dragoons of Krassow [1701/01] did not remain long in the land either. It was sent as Imperial contingent to the upper Rhein and consisted of: Regimental staff: Regt. quartermaster, chaplain, barber,

Drummer, regt. provost = 5 men 4 companies each: 1 captain (1st commanded by the colonel)

1 lieutenant 1 ensign 1 sergeant-major 1 fourier 1 barber 3 corporals 2 drummers 1 farrier 50 dragoons

altogether 62 men in 4 companies = 248 staff = 5 the regiment altogether = 253 men

The battalion Maltzahn and the Krassow dragoons remained until 1704 in foreign service (see also the table of actions) the latter returning to Mecklenburg again.

On 18th May 1709 the infantry battalion of Colonel Curt Christoph von Schwerin, 5 companies with 570 men, in 1709 742 men, was leased to Prussia and handed over in Brüssels. It remained in Prussian service until the end of the war and then came home, arriving in Mecklenburg on 12th February 1713.

Mecklenburg’s troops for home defence

When the battalion Maltzahn and the regiment of Krassow had left a new recruitment had to be made to at least give pretence of having a force to defend the fortresses and borders of the country. By the end of the year 1703 there were indeed again 515 men available:


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Comp. Of Horse Scharffenberg about 60 men Grenadier comp. of Birkholz, garrison of Schwerin 61 men Musketeer comp. of Buggenhagen garrison Dömitz 163 men Musketeer comp. of du Puits garrison Rostock 118 men Musketeer comp. of Schütze garrison Boizenburg 113 men

The force grew further and by 1st May 1705 the land had the following forces in its own pay: 1. General staff: Lt.Gen. Schwerin, Major-Gen. Birckholz, Brigadier Krassow, fortress

commander Colonel du Puits (Rostock), fortress commander Lt.Col. Buggenhagen (Dömitz), 1 auditor, 1 war chancellory clerk, 1 fortress notary, 2 Wachtmeisterleutnants, 1 Zeugwart, 6 constables.

2. Trabantengarde: 1 captain, 1 cornet, 3 NCOs, 2 drummers, 1 surgeon, 40 trabants =48 men 3. Regt. of Horse Krassow (Circle contingent on upper Rhine) [1701/01] 6 companies of 61 men each and 6 men staff = 372 men 4. Dragoon regt. Wedell (back from Prussian service) 4 companies of 58 men and 2 staff = 234 men 5. Regt. of foot GM von Berckholz 10 musketeer companies and 2 grenadier companies, 4 staff = 772 men 6. Pioneer companies Captain Bötticher, 1 lieutenant, 2 under-drivers, 50 men = 54 men Captain Rentz, 1 lieutenant, 3 under-drivers, 1 wallsetter, 50 men= 56 men

When as above mentioned, the battalion of foot went back into Prussian service in 1709 there remained 116 able men under Lt. Col. Buggenhagen in Rostock and 62 men under Col. du Puits in the fortress of Dömitz as regular infantry to garrison the fortresses till the end of the war. To man the other fortresses and large towns as well as support for the weak regulars, 2 battalions of country militia were raised. On 18th May 1713 these had the following strength:

Landmiliz-Bataillon Schwerin: Col. Buggenhagen, Major Troyentz, Captain Langheim, Captain Pressentin

4 companies with 3 officers, 2 sergeants, 1 capitaine d’armes, 1 corporal, 1 drummer from the regulars and 2 corporals, 1 drummer and 150 men from the parishes (the captains company had only 2 officers) giving 4 comp. each of 161 men = 642 men.

Landmiliz-Bataillon Güstrow: Lt. Col. Vacant, Captain Tode, Captain Lowtzow, Capitain Scharffenberg 4 companies (as for batt. Schwerin) each with 161 men = 642 men

Only after the death of Duke Frederick William did Lt. Col. von Kohlhans become commander of the Landmiliz-Bataillon Güstrow.

Uniforms

The regiments of Foot Buchwald [1699/01] and Schwerin [1701/02] still wore the somewhat old-fashioned looking cloak-like overcoats typical of northern German states when they marched off to the Netherlands in 1701. Those of the NCOs were somewhat more loosely cut than those of the men. The company officers appear to have worn justaucorps in the same colours, staff officers in reversed colours. Sashes and gorgets had been introduced as badges of rank for officers, and they also had gilded buttons and lace on their uniforms. In 1700 the regiments of Schwerin and Buchwald still had 360 pikes and 360 swords for the pikemen. In 1702, from about February on, the previous leather breeches were changed to ones of blue cloth and blue-sleeved waistcoats were partially introduced. In the regiment Schwerin this seems to have been completed for the all the men but in the regiments, which were still at home, only the sergeants, other NCOs and corporals received blue waistcoats and breeches. The buttons on coat and waistcoats were of brass, on the cloak-style overcoats they were


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cloth covered wooden buttons, down the front in blue and on the cuffs in white. NCOs and corporals wore as badges of rank a silver button on the hat and different widths of silver lace on it according to rank.

A distinct change in the uniforms of the Mecklenburg soldiers was ordered by the Duke in November 1703 and carried out by the troops within the country at once but dragged on in the field regiments until spring 1705. The ground colour was now blue; NCOs and grenadiers received surtouts instead of the overcoats, silver lace on the cuffs, hat and buttonholes were further distinctions of the NCOs. A note from Uffeln describes the grenadiers’ caps of Schwerin: these were decorated with the ducal monogram on the front plate which was in the facing colour, but on the small peak at the front was the cipher or name of the regiment’s owner, Lt. Gen. Schwerin – they may also have hat false gold/silver toothed borders as was usual in the Netherlands. The cap bag was in the coat colour, the tassel in the button colour, yellow. Tessin indicates that the coats were also richly decorated with lace. Grenadier officers had caps in the same colour but with golden lace and tassel and instead of the monogram the ducal arms on a gilded plate, which was sewn to the front shield.

The musicians’ uniforms were decorated with lace. Pipers carried flintlocks but drummers had only sabres.

Regimental pioneers, one in each company, appear in 1709. The pioneer wore an apron, carried an axe, a flintlock and a saw instead of a sabre.

Dragoon 1704


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Table of Uniforms 1701-1713

Details may be taken from the following table: Regiment Coat Cuffs

& linings

Waistcoat Breeches Neckcloth Buttons Stockings

Hatlace

Buchwald/Flohr 1701 [1699/01]

grey-white

blue blue leather red brass blue yellow

Buchwald/Flohr 1705 [1699/01]

blue grey-white

grey-white leather red brass grey-white

yellow

Schwerin/Uffeln/ Krassow 1701 [1701/02]

grey-white

blue blue leather black brass blue yellow

Schwerin/Uffeln/ Krassow 1703 [1701/02]

blue red blue blue black brass blue Yellow

Maltzahn 1703 [1702/02]

grey-white

blue blue leather black brass blue yellow

Bergholtz/ Schwerin 1705 [1705/01]

blue red blue leather white brass red yellow


blue blue blue grey-white

black brass red yellow


red blue

Miliz Güstrow 1711-1717

grey-white

green blue tin white

Miliz Schwerin 1711-1717

grey-white

blue blue tin white

Cavalry Regiment

Coat & Cloak

Cuffs & linings

Waistcoat Breeches Neckcloth

Schabraque Hatlace

Krassow Dragoons 1702 [1701/01]

Grey-white

Blue Blue Leather Black Blue Yellow

Krassow Dragoons 1703 [1701/01]

Blue Blue Blue Leather Black Blue Yellow

Meerheimb/Krassow/ Wedel Horse [1702/01]

Grey-white

Blue Blue Leather Black Blue Yellow

Meerheimb/Krassow/ Wedel Horse 1712 [1702/01]

Blue Blue Blue Leather Black Blue Yellow

(Blue = deep medium indigo blue, leather = light buff, as were the belts, bandoleer and pouch, Shabraque = saddle cloth and holster covers, the cloak was tied behind the saddle. Note that the details in Tessin are incomplete and partially contradictory)


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Trabants

The Trabants, besides the leather waistcoats and breeches, wore blue surtouts with crimson cuffs and linings and golden lace, golden hatlace, and buttonhole lace in 1705. The crimson cloak was embroidered with the Duke’s monogram on both shoulders, as were the holster covers, shabraque red with gold fringes. The cloak was lined blue. Both standards were white with golden embroidery and fringes.

Flags and Standards

All Leibstandarten and Leibfahnen (colonels’ standards and flags) had white as the groundcolour. The company standards of the regiments Krassow [1701/01] and Meerheimb [1702/01]were of light blue cloth and hat gold-yellow silk fringes as for the Leibstandarten; the monograms and laurel wreaths were also embroidered in gold-yellow silk; ribbon on the wreath was red, as was the lining of the ducal crown, the border white with black ermine tails. The arms on the other side, edged with a gold-yellow border, are held by a black bull and a gold-yellow griffon, and surrounded with a dark blue ribbon. They consist of a red and yellow centre shield, field 1 yellow with the black bull’s head, the ring and horns red, field 2 blue with the golden griffon, field 3 divided, above red with a golden lion, below white, field 4 black, cross silver, crown golden, field 5 red, arm and cloud silver, ring golden, field 6 gold-yellow with a lying black bull’s head, the horns and ring red.

Up until 1705 the two regiments of foot in Dutch subsidy and the battalion Maltzahn [1702/02] carried, alongside the white colonel’s flag, 4 light blue company flags painted as the standards described above but only Malzahn had a doubled cloth, so that the other regiments had the coat of arms on the reverse side mirrored, i.e. reversed. In 1705 the regiment Flohr (ex-Buchwald) [1699/01]and Detlev von Schwerin received embroidered flags which had a somewhat different appearance and can be seen among the French booty flags of Douay 1712. In the corners is the ducal monogram surrounded by green twigs of laurel tied with a red ribbon, above them is a red-lined golden crown. The arms are completed with the crests on jousting helmets. These are white with gold fittings and visors, lined red, the crests (from left to right) helmet 1: cloth wreath (below the crest) yellow/red/red/red/yellow/blue/white, golden griffon, helmet 2: wreath red/red/yellow/yellow, horns on left red/yellow, on right yellow/red, Helmet 4 (middle): wreath red/red/yellow/red/yellow/red/yellow/red/red/black, ducal cap with white ermine edge with black tails, lining red, above feathers of yellow/red/blue/yellow/black/white/yellow, above these the familiar black bull’s head prone, helmet 5: wreath blue/yellow/red/white, left wing golden, right wing blue, helmet 6: wreath: yellow/red/yellow/black/yellow/red. The arms and the supporters are standing on a light green base, but the area under the supporters’ feet light brown.

The flags of the battalion Curt Christoph von Schwerin [1707/01] (ex-Bergholtz) are said to have been made according to the same pattern in 1709, one being of white, the other of light blue ground colour cloth.

The kettledrum banners had red/yellow diagonal stripes and golden fringes along with the gold-yellow embroidered ducal monogram, the trumpet-banners blue with the same monogram.


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Table of actions

Regiment of foot Lt. Gen. Detlev von Schwerin, 1706 Col. von Uffeln, 22.07.1708 G.M. von Krassow [1701/02]:

1701 Garrison in Arnheim, Deventer, Jülich, Düsseldorf 1702 Sieg of Kaiserswerth, cannonade of Helchteren, garrison in Maastricht 1703 Positions on the Lauter and Stollhofen lines, camp at Ulm and Augsburg. 1704 Battle of the Schellenberg, Höchstädt/Blenheim, camp at Kron-Weißenburg, taking of

Saarburg 1706 Sieges of Oostende and Menin, garrison of Ath 1707- 1709 garrison of Ath 1710 Camp at Douay, sieges of St. Venant and Aire. 1710- 1712 Garrison at Douay, prisoners of war, exchanged, only 316 men returned home.

Regiment of foot Col. von Buchwald, 1705 Col. von Flohr [1699/01] 1701 Garrison in Arnheim, Zwolle, Lenning, Cologne 1702 Garrison in Cologne, Nymwegen, Grave and Hertogenbosch 1703 Garrison in Sluis, actions on the Lines of Brabant at Stekene, garrison in Sas 1704 Garrison in Bergen op Zoom, cannonade of Brugge, post at Tuerkij, siege of Fort

Isabelle, garrison in Sas, Gertruidenburg, Bergen op Zoom 1705 Garrison in Sas, camps at Endvelde and Riemen, posts at Cadsand-Idendiek and

Niekerke, garrision in Sluis 1706 Garrison in Sluis, Oostende, Menin 1707 – 1708 garrison in Menin 1709 Garrison in Coutrich, battle of Malplaquet 1710 Sieges of Aire and St. Venant, garrison in Lille and Aire 1711 Garrison in Douay 1712 Defence of Marchiennes (part), and Douay (part), prisoners of war, exchanged 1713 Returned home with only 148 men.

Regiment of foot Lt.Col. von Maltzahn [1702/02] 1703 Combat at Neuburger wood, siege of Schärding 1704 Defence of Passau, defending detachment taken prisoner, remainder went to

Hungary, combat at castle of Jablonice, taken prisoner and arrested in Tyrnau, slowly exchanged, Col. von Maltzahn became Col. of the 3rd Danish Inf. Regt. Ende (ex-Boyneburg) and took the exchanged men into this regiment. The officers partly returned to Mecklenburg.

Regiment of foot Col. Bergholtz [1705/01] , 1709 Lt.Gen. C. Chr. von Schwerin [1707/01] 1709 Garrison in Brüssels, siege of Tournai, escorted baggage at Malplaquet 1710 – 1711 Garrison in Wesel 1712 Garrison in Geldern 1713 Returned to Mecklenburg

Regiment of dragoons, Col. von Krassow, 1705 Col. von Wedell [1701/01] 1703 Post at Nuremberg, combat at Weldingen, battle at Höchstädt-Schwenningen 1704 Battle of Höchstädt/Blenheim 1705 (April) returned to Mecklenburg

Regiment of horse (contingent to the Lower-Saxon Circle) Col. von Meerheimb, 1704 Col. von Krassow, 1705 Col. von Wedell (died 04.09.1708), 1708 Lt.Col. von Waldow (also known as Mecklenburg Leibregiment) [1702/01]

1702 Camp at Kronweißenburg


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1703 Post at Oberbrühl and in the diocese of Speyer, camp at Haunsheim and Heidenheim, post at Altenstatt, winterquarters at Roting

1704 Post at Nuremberg, skirmish as avant-garde at Höchstädt (10.08.), battle of Höchstädt/Blenheim, skirmish at Eichstedt/Altmühl

1705 Posts on the lines of Stollhofen at Drusenheim and Hagenau 1706 Posts on the lines of Stollhofen 1707 Posts on the lines of Ettlingen 1708 Post on the left of the Rhine opposite the lines of Ettlingen, named Leibregiment by

Frederick Wilhelm 1709 Camps of Knielingen and Speyer 1710 Camp at Muggensturm and Rheinzabern, winterquarters at Groß-

Gartach/Württemberg 1711 Powder-transport to the fortress of Landau, camp at Speyer, winterquarters at and

around Wimpffen/Württemberg 1712 Lines of Lauterberg, skirmish at Kronweißenburg (16.08.), winterquarters at

Wimpffen and Groß-Gartach 1713 From March to May returned to home by way of Groß-Heilbach/Main, Eisenach,

Mansfeld, Altmark to home quarters at Badebusch/Wittenburg and Hagenow.

(Also worthy of note is that the Dutch contingents also carried with them: 1 captain’s tent, 1 lieutenant’s and ensign’s tent, 2 NCOs’ tents, 13 men’s tents, 1 musket and 4 watch tents all on “tent horses”. The regiment also had a staff wagon with a blue-white striped cover and the ducal arms painted on it, as well as a two-horse “fieldbox” wagon or apothecary. The field kettles, water flasks and digging tools were carried by the men.)


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The aftermath of the War and the Russian Adventure

The story of Mecklenburg-Schwerin after the War of the Spanish Succession takes us beyond our general period but is interesting because it completes the story and includes one of the greatest tales of soldiers’ loyalty to a thankless prince during the 18th century.

Duke Frederick William was followed on his death by his brother, Carl Leopold (1713-1747). Carl Leopold immediately got into a conflict with his landed gentry by insisting on continuation of the contributions made during the War of the Spanish Succession to support a standing army based on the creation of the standing army in 1682, confirmed in 1702. The gentry rejected this claiming it had not been ratified by a meeting of the Circle, which was true since it had not met for 20 years due to the differences between the principle members. His attempt to force his will on the town of Rostock ended with members of the town council being marched off as prisoners of the Schwerin Militia. He quartered regiments on the domains of the gentry and sent the military in to exact contributions by force. These caused great insult and injury especially when carried out by the two new Russian regiments whose men did not speak German at all. The Emperor took sides with the gentry and issued orders to Hanover and Brunswick to carry out a Reichsexecution against the Duke to enforce his decision. As a defence against the threatened execution Carl Leopold began increasing his forces in 1717 and footed an army of almost 10,000 men as follows:

Cavalry:

Leibregiment zu Pferde under Col. Waldow [1702/01], 5 companies, 400 men. Uniform: blue with blue facings.

Dragoons of Col. Johann William von Vietinghoff [1701/01], 5 companies, 400 men created from Krassow dragoons. Uniform: blue with paille (straw yellow).

Dragoons of Col. von Lilienstreng [1717/01], 5 companies, 400 men, in 1717 dismounted. Uniform: blue with white.

Infantry:

I.R. Brigadier Detloff von Flohr [1699/01], 10 companies, 1425 men from 6 companies of his previous regiment. Uniform: blue, collar, cuffs, lining, waistcoat and breeches white, buttons tin, neck cloths black.

I.R. Brigadier Curt Christoph von Schwerin, 1719 Col. August Frederick von Kraft [1707/01], 10 companies 1425 men from his battalion raised in 1707. Uniform: blue with red lining, cuffs and collar, blue waistcoat and breeches, buttons brass.

I.R. Col. Philipp Detloff von Kahlden [1701/02] 5 companies, 720 men raised from the previous regiment of Bohlen on 7th January 1718. Uniform: blue with chamois (yellow) lining, cuffs and collar, blue waistcoat and breeches, buttons tin.

I.R. Lt. Col. Ferdinand von Zülow, 4 companies, 451 men, raised in 1715 as battalion Lilienstreng [1715/01] from 4 companies of the regiment Flohr, Zülow from August 1717. Uniform: blue with white.

I.R. Col. Ivan Valinsky [1717/03], 8 companies, 1342 men, taken from the Russian regiment of Viat (Viatski) which entered the service of Mecklenburg in July 1717. Uniform: from 1718 coat, waistcoat and breeches blue, cuffs white, buttonholes blue. The men wore “kapuz” caps instead of hats (flat camp-caps with ear and neck flaps similar to the Swedish Karpuz).

I.R. Col. Johann Gottfried von Tilly [1717/02], 8 companies, 1342 men and 2 grenadier companies 326 men, from the Russian regiment of Jaroslaw (Jaroslawski) and two companies of the grenadier regiment of General Lacy, an Irish officer in Russian service. Uniform from 1718: coat, waistcoat and breeches blue, cuffs and buttonholes white, kapuz caps.


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Militia:

Landmiliz battalion Schwerin under Col. Buggenhagen: 4 companies, 642 men. Uniform 1718: as for regiment Tilly.

Landmiliz battalion Tilly under Lt. Col. Kohlhans: 4 companies, 642 men. Uniform 1718: as for regiment Valinsky.

Duke Carl Leopold was married to the niece of the Czar Peter the Great. This was part of the reason that the Czar had left him two Russian regiments, which had been stationed in Mecklenburg in 1717 in the course of the Great Northern War.

Carl Leopold’s Fall

Finally between 25th February and 3rd March 1719 the combined Hanover/Brunswick execution corps under General of Cavalry Cuno Josua von Bülow with about 7,000 infantry (12 battalions), 2,000 cavalry (20 squadrons) and some artillery crossed the border on the Elbe river at Zollenspieker, Artlenburg and Boizenburg and proceeded to Hagenow and Wittenburg with the intention of surrounding the Schwerin troops assembling at Wittenburg. Major-General von Schwerin (promoted 3rd September 1718) was in command of these 4,000 man infantry and 800 man cavalry who were not fully equipped and trained. The Duke had commanded them to move back to the town and fortress of Schwerin and to avoid contact with the enemy. General von Schwerin followed these instructions and pulled back towards the town, leaving Wittenburg on 5th March. But in the night they met up with a regiment of the execution troops which attempted to prohibit them from crossing the Sude river at Walsmühlen about 25 km from Schwerin. The first skirmish developed into a fight. In the night the Hanoverian regiment was attacked and destroyed by the ex-Russian regiment of Tilly [1717/02]. It suffered heavy losses in dead, wounded and prisoners. The Schweriner soldiers then began crossing the river on a temporary bridge they had built but the Leibregiment was attacked by a regiment of Hanoverian dragoons. The general launched a successful counter-attack with a portion of his infantry and continued his withdrawal to Schwerin. An attack under the leadership of von Bülow himself the following day was also beaten off and von Schwerin’s force reached the capital that afternoon.

On 8th March the Duke promoted Schwerin to Lt. General. On the urgent advice of King Frederick William of Prussia the Duke gave up his resistance but tried to save as much of his army as possible. Some 3 companies of Kahlden under the command of Tilly stayed on as garrison of Dömitz. This garrison also included cavalry designated as the “Princely Highness of Mecklenburg’s Life Regiment of Horse” and in a roll of 26th November 1727 it counted only the commander Major H. U. von Wenckstern, 1 quartermaster, 4 corporals, 1 kettledrummer, 5 trumpeters, 2 barbers and 99 troopers.

The two Russian regiments went back into Russian service directly. The remaining combatants of Walsmühle were also taken into Russian service based on an agreement with Czar Peter of Russia. On the march through Pomerania and Prussia to Riga they were accompanied by Prussian troops who succeeded in recruiting a large number of the men. Already in the Prussian town of Pasewalk the successor to General von Schwerin, Colonel von Krapff, disappeared with a number of the men, some officers and a large part of the baggage. Whether they went into Prussian service or other is not known.

A further 150 man, the tallest, were obliged to enter Prussian service as part of the contract with King Frederick William to allow them to cross Prussia. When the army reached the town of Schwerin an der Warthe, now in Poland, there were still 741 cavalry and 950 infantry present. Treated as enemies by the Poles and subject to attempts to recruit them by the Russians they carried on, still in hopes that they would be called back home. Despite mutinies, further desertions and a bad supply situation, colonel von Lilienstreng, successor to Major-General von Flohr who had been left behind as sick, lead the force onwards through Tuchel, where the Life-Dragoon regiment completely broke up, and Graudenz, where there were difficulties with armed citizens. Further officers and men deserted in the course of the march. At the start of July 1719 they reached Dünaburg. Here they received orders to


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march by way of Smolensk to the Ukraine. Under Colonel von Schack, who was to remain commander until their return to Mecklenburg, they finally reached their duty area of Njeshin in September 1719. Here they were to serve as a guard against Turkish incursions on the border.

In the Ukraine they suffered continued hardship. The Russian supply system was haphazard to say the least. Their pay from their Duke also arrived irregularly. As best they could the men settled into their new home, some marrying local women. A known example is the remaining cavalry commander, Major Ulrich Hans von Blücher. He had left his son behind as a baby, loyally baptised Carl Leopold, when forced to march off. His wife had died in the meanwhile and in 1732 or 1733 he married again in the Ukraine. By that time his son was serving with the Imperial army on the Rhine. The major also had children by the second marriage but did not survive to return home.

The exiles missed the final, futile attempt of the Duke to force his will upon the gentry in 1733, when he organised a patchwork force of militia, soldiers and pressed civilians to support his putsch attempt. The result was a renewal of the execution by Hanover and a quick dispersal of the “rebels”.

By September 1736 the exiled cavalry had shrunk to 18 officers and NCOs and 51 troopers. The infantry was composed of 71 officers and NCOs along with 97 other ranks. Duke Carl Leopold constantly refused all requests from the officers to allow the force to return home. Only when his daughter, Anna Leopoldovna, became regent of Russia, were they allowed to return after 27 years of service. Their arrival was awaited with trepidation in Mecklenburg but at the beginning of the year 1746 only 12 officers, 16 NCOs and 60 men finally arrived back. Of the Doberan (Zülow) battalion there was only an ensign left and of the cavalry none at all. Followed by camels and Tartar women the “Army” looked more like a wandering circus than warriors. But they proudly brought back one flag of each of the regiments of Flohr and Kraft of the time of the War of the Spanish Succession with them! They first came into quarters at Parchim. Since the regent Christian Ludwig, the younger brother of Carl Leopold, did not succeed in disbanding them they were moved to the village of Spornitz in the area of Dömitz where the inhabitants were still sympathetic to Carl Leopold who finally died on 28th November 1747 and was succeeded in turn by his younger brother who now reigned as Christian II Ludwig. In 1755 he in turn capitulated completely to the landed gentry and wrote their privileges into a constitution, which remained in effect until 1918.


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List of Regiments

1631/01 Breitenbach zu Pferde, 1631 Herzog Hans Albrecht 1631 + ! Sweden

1631/02 Zülow zu Pferde 1631 + ! Sweden

1631/03 Leibregiment Herzog Adolph Friedrich zu Fuß (known as “Yellow Lohausen”) 1631 ! Sweden, + Worms 1633?

1631/04 Lohausen zu Fuß (known as “White Lohausen”) 1632 ! Sweden + 1636

1631/05 Leibregiment Herzog Hans Albrecht zu Fuß 1631 +

1631/06 Görtzke zu Fuß 1632 + ! Sweden

1672/01 Halberstadt zu Pferde 1674 +

1672/02 Oertzen zu Pferde (Eskadron) 1672 + ! Denmark

1672/03 Leibeskadron zu Pferde 1673 +

1687/01 Jordan zu Pferde (Eskadron) 1689 +

1687/02 Oesterling zu Fuß 1689 +

1699/01 Prinz Karl Leopold zu Fuß 1700 Buchwald 1705 Flohr 1719 ! Russia

1701/01 Krassow Dragoner 1717 Vietinghof 1719 ! Russia

1701/02 Schwerin zu Fuß 1706 Uffeln 1708 Krassow 1715 Bohlen 1718 Kahlden 1719 ! Russia (3 companies remained in garrison in Dömitz)

1702/01 Meerheimb zu Pferde 1704 Krassow 1705 Wedell 1708 Leibregiment (Waldow) 1713 Leibregiment 1719 ! Russia


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1702/02 Maltzahn zu Fuß (battalion) 1704 +

1705/01 Bergholtz zu Fuß 1706 +

1707/01 Schwerin zu Fuß 1719 Kraft 1719 ! Russia

1715/01 Lilienstreng zu Fuß 1717 Zülow 1719 ! Russia

1717/01 Lilienstreng Dragoner 1719 ! Russia

1717/02 Tilly zu Fuß (Russian regiment Jaroslav) 1719 ! Russia

1717/03 Valinsky zu Fuß (Russian regiment Viat) 1719 ! Russia


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Mecklenburg-Strelitz

The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz had only a small contingent of military but one which lasted the whole 18th century. On 23rd March 1701 the Duke created a Leibkompanie Garde zu Fuß (Life company of footguards) of about 100 men in garrison at Alt-Strelitz. The almost 15-year-old hereditary prince Adolph Frederick (1686-1765; 1708 Duke Adolph Frederick III) was the first chief. The commander, if only for a short time, was Captain Benedix von Powisz.

Already on 24th October 1701 command was given to Captain Henning von Rieben. In a muster-roll of 30th August 1702 the strength is given as: Primaplana: captain, lieutenant, ensign, 2 sergeants, a “Gefreiten”-corporal (senior corporal), a fourier, a capitaine d’armes (armourer), a barber-surgeon, three corporals and three drummers. In addition there were 12 lance-corporals and 88 men, altogether 115 men. In 1703 the lifeguard company was reinforced with 6 others forming the “Regiment Strelitz”. Based on the contract of 15th January 1703 with Brunswick-Lüneburg-Celle (“Celle”) it took part in the war of the Spanish Succession. The colonel was the hereditary prince “Colonel Adolph-Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. In 1705 already the lifeguard company went back to Strelitz but the remainder of the regiment remained in the, now Hanoverian, army until 1803.

The Lifeguard, reduced by 12 men on 19th May 1710 for lack of funds, could do little against the Russian, Polish and Saxon troops crossing the country and often plundering in the course of the Great Northern War, so it was limited to the protection of the ducal family.

The Lifeguard wore red uniforms, white breeches and gaiters. Lapels, cuffs and linings were lemon-yellow with gold lace in addition. The other six companies of the Regiment Strelitz wore light grey uniforms. No other details are available.


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Lübeck

During the period in discussion the city and port of Lübeck as a free Imperial City and member of the Hanseatic league also entertained its own small military consisting solely of an infantry battalion along with artillery and individual horsemen. In 1684 the artillery had 40 men, in 1690 36 men, of these 15 were constables, 13 workers and 3 quartermasters. The infantry varied from 293 men in 1691 to 489 in 1697, dropped to 267 in 1699 to rise to a peak of 429 again in 1712.

Irregularly paid, even by the standards of the time, the men went on strike for 3 days in 1691 because their pay was outstanding for 28 months. That they could survive at all was probably due to the fact that they all had other jobs as well being soldiers. Later in the 18th century they refused to parade at noon instead of the early morning because the later parade would interfere with their other employment. Compared with regular units of the day their rate of desertion was relatively low. Whether this was related to the fact that impounded beer was handed over to the town soldiers cannot be confirmed.

What they lacked in military zeal they seem to have compensated in musical talent. Places in the band were coveted and a trumpeter waited from 1684 to 1697 for a place in the band (of an infantry unit!?!). To get in he then had to pay for his own uniform – his “Livery” was only paid for by the town when one of the original two trumpeters died. Drummers, fifers and oboists are also mentioned. They earned money by playing at private celebrations and parties, despite energetic complaints from the civil musicians in the town.

Uniform

As mentioned above they were dressed in red. Whether they already had the white facings documented in the later part of the 18th Century, is unclear but the mention of “livery” above would suggest that the musicians at least were dressed in the Lübeck livery of red and white, probably with white lace.

In 1713 the creation of a grenadier company was suggested. The town council agreed provided that the re-equipment would not cost anything. Not surprisingly it did not come to pass and only later in the century was the existence of a grenadier company confirmed.

The drum of 1727 in the plate is drawn after an original with was exhibited in the Sammlung Roselius museum in Bremen. There it was described as being from Bremen but the arms identify it as Lübeck.


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Hamburg

The Free and Imperial City of Hamburg, today the Free and Hanseatic City (Frei- und Hansastadt), commands a position as a natural harbour on the river Elbe flowing from Dresden down through Saxony, Brandenburg and Lower Saxony into the North Sea. This position was the source of its wealth and influence, enabling it to survive the Thirty Years War relatively unscathed since both sides depended on its services. During the war in 1642 Hamburg: had the proud number of 311 cannon to defend its walls. After the war the obsolete small arms were sold and replaced by 3600 light muskets bought up until 1675. [Galperin]

Hamburg’s freedom did not go uncontested. In 1676 Denmark refused to recognise the freedom of the city and threatened the town in an affair, which cumulated in the siege of Hamburg in 1686. The main burden of defence fell on the regular soldiers of the garrison assisted by seamen hired as cannoniers, 30 Swedish “volunteers”, 1000 infantry and 100 cavalry from Hanover. Faced with an approaching relief force made up of the entire army of Celle, 2000 infantry and 1000 cavalry from Hanover and troops from Brandenburg, the Danish army finally withdrew. Apart from the money for men and material the struggle left Hamburg relatively unhurt. Still, it was only in 1768 that Denmark finally recognised the independent status of Hamburg.

The Hamburg military consisted of armed citizens, the Bürgergarde or Bürgerwehr and a regular military, the Stadtsoldaten. During the Thirty Years War there were 4 Bürgerwehr regiments of 10 companies, to which that of St. Michaelis was added in 1620, although St. Michaelis became a parish only in 1677 when the regiments received the following distinctive colours (not uniforms but probably flags): [Galperin]

St. Petri red St. Nicolai blue St. Katharinen yellow St. Jacobi green St. Michaelis white

In 1664 St. Michaelis agreed “the company moneys were not to be spent on banquets and other feasts as was so often the case before”. After the war a “drill master” was employed to exercise the regiments and look after the quality of arms. This was the first of a series of drillmasters who bitterly complained about burghers who would not attend drill. In 1658 the strength was increased to 10000 men in 57 companies Officers were: 5 lt. colonels, 57 captains, 57 lieutenants, 57 ensigns, 57 majors, 171 quartermasters, 57 ensign-lieutenants, 57 clerks, 171 lance-corporals, 684 Rottmeister or corporals, 171 drummers, 57 fifers, 57 messengers. They were armed with pikes and armour, which only fell out of use on the introduction of the musket in 1674. Uniform was not worn. Only officers and NCOs wore scarlet coats with light coloured underclothing and uniform hats, changing pattern with the fashion.[Mittheilungen 1893 No. 8] The above mentioned distinctive colours of flags are also mentioned in [Ehlers] but with differences for 1711:

St. Petri red St. Nicolai blue St. Katharinen yellow St. Jacobi & St. Georg white St. Michaelis green

Citizens were allowed to pay a replacement watchman who should not be a Hamburger, i.e. citizens could not be replaced by citizens. Twice a year they practised with the matchlock, and only after 1710 with the flintlock, two shots being paid for by the city, additional ones being paid for by the citizens themselves. Fines for absence and other misdemeanours were exactly laid down in 1711 and proved sufficient to pay for flags, drums and permanent officers, which sheds a poor light on the discipline of these “weekend warriors”. Their role in Hamburg’s great hour of peril, the siege of 1686, was negligible.


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Stadtsoldaten

The other side of Hamburg’s defence was the mercenary military or Stadtsoldaten. These had strength of 1700 men on foot and a company of horse at the end of 1657. This strength went up and down according to the perceived danger in the following years.

On 25th Nov. 1679 it was agreed that the military be dressed in a “certain livery” i.e. uniform with the Hanseatic colour red being chosen. At this point they consisted of 8 companies of foot, a unit of cavalry and one of artillery. [Mittheilungen] That same year 500 “Flintmusketen” (or “Schnapphahnen”, German flintlocks) were tried out but appear to have been unreliable and were replaced a year later, in 1680, with an order for 300 modern flintlocks. [Galperin] In 1683 Captain Martin Böhme raised a grenadier company. Böhme, born in 1629, had entered Lüneburg service at 22 years old as a private and left three years later as NCO to serve a further 3 years as an NCO with the Spanish and entered the service of Münster as an officer, leaving Münster service in 1677 as a captain after 10 years, joining the Hamburg garrison as a grenadier captain and serving there until his death in 1729, ninety years old. He instructed the men in throwing grenades. This company received a flag on 29th April 1684 (s. below). [Mittheilungen] The flag gives us interesting details of the grenadiers’ equipment. They carried flintlocks with plug-bayonets and red leather grenade pouches. Straps on the flintlocks were also red leather.

In 1686 the military was considerably increased to defend the city against the Danes, the infantry being raised to two regiments each of 12 companies of 100 men each, the cavalry, dragoons, and artillery also being increased. The older infantry companies formed the first regiment and the newer companies the second regiment. Only on 16th April 1686 did the latter first parade with flags. The companies of the first regiment had flags with mottoes and designs in the style of the period being: [Mittheilungen]

1. Col. Scheiter: the word Jehovah in Hebraic letters and the motto “Der Herr ist mein Bannier und

mein Schild” (The Lord is my banner and my shield) 2. Lt. Col.: a rock standing in water with the words “Ich stehe fest” (I stand fast) 3. Major: a light on a beacon with the words “Ich zünde anderen an” (I set others on fire) 4. Captain Schaffshausen: a lion with the motto “Ich fürchte mich für nichts” (I am afraid of

nothing) 5. Captain Brakel: a sun shining on the sea with the title “Geschwind und unermüdet” (Fast and

untiring) 6. Captain Westius: a crane with the title “Ich halte gut Wache” (I keep watch well) 7. Captain Rebenstock: a picture of Fortuna with the words “Das Glück zu ergreifen, muss man

keine Gelegenheit versäumen” (To take hold of fortune you must not miss any opportunity) 8. Captain Schwarz: a Karl (man in mail) with arrows which he is breaking over his knee, motto “Je

mehr, je stärker” (The more the stronger) 9. Captain Behm/Böhme: the arms of the city with the old grenadier weapons (the grenadier

company), the motto “Nemo me impune tanget” (No one touches me with impunity) 10. Captain Kregel: three pulse (peas/bean-) leaves with a grenade at their point and the title “Greifts

Du nach mir, so stech ich nach Dir”.(If you grab at me I shall prick you)

Both infantry regiments were raised to 12 companies each shortly thereafter and fought against the Danes during the siege of Hamburg in 1686. [Mittheilungen]

For 1688 the chronic records that on 8th August the men and officers of the Leibregiment (Life guard, the 1st regiment) were equipped with new red uniforms lined blue and marched with their hautbois in front of the council house. The second regiment, in red lined green, followed on 10th August. [Mittheilungen] It is interesting to note that the colours were not the usual Hanseatic colours, red and white.

In 1690 the 15 remaining companies of both regiments were combined into one regiment. In a further reduction of February 1695 the regiment was set to 12 companies of 150 men, not including lance-corporals and NCOs, altogether 1560 musketeers and 432 grenadiers.


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The garrison was commanded by Major-General Johann Georg Freiherr von Uffeln from July 1679 until August 1690. He was followed by Lieutenant-General Hinrich Freiherr von Delwig from January 1692 until February 1696, then Lt. General Otto Johann Freiherr von Grothusen from October 1696 until July 1697 and finally Colonel Johann Gottfried von Druchtleben from April 1698 until February 1717.

In 1696 the companies are recorded as follows: 1. Life company under Capitainlieutenant Busekist 16.01.1696 - 1700 2. Lt. Colonel Bodecar 1686 - 05.01.1702 3. Major Hans H. v. Bösch 1676 – 24.09.1718 (1705 Lt. Col. –1711) 4. Captain Justus Höcker 16.01.1696 – 1702 (then Cpt. Block – 04.12.1724) 5. Captain Martin Böhme 1677 – 01.08.1729 (Grenadier company) 6. Major Schaffshausen before 1693 – 07.10.1711 7. Captain Schwartz ???? – 1715 8. Captain Westius ???? – 15.01.1704 9. Captain Rebenstock 1690 – 10.01.1706 10. Captain J. W. Gildehusen ???? – 19.12.1709 * 11. Captain Rebentz ???? – 10.01.1700 (then Cpt. Busekist 22.09.1700-

02.01.1716, Major 1711) 12. Lieutenant Nitsche 29.07.1693 – 1710

Interesting is the relatively long period of service of the officers. *Captain Gildehusen was born in Hanover 1689 according to [Ehlers] who marks his entry into Hamburg service as being 1722? Since Ehlers is also the source of the above dates and Galperin confirms the list the question remains open.

On 14th February 1702 the commander complained that the small clothes were worn out. These were replaced and men whose coats were worn out were to have new ones “in the same colour as the remaining companies”, which suggests that some still had the red/green coats. [Mittheilungen] In 1702 600 sabres were delivered for officers and NCOs. The men retained the old straight swords of the previous century. Grenadier officers and NCOs carried flintlocks. [Galperin]

On 18th December 1702 hats were ordered for the whole regiment including the NCOs. 600 swords with sheathes at 3 Marks 4 Schillings each were also ordered. The hat with gold border cost 2 Marks 14 Schillings. Every company commander was to order the men to get a black neck cloth and blue stockings. At the same time it was ordered that the hoboists and drummers were to receive new uniforms with lace, which they received in 1703. [Mittheilungen] The lace has been taken from an illustration by Knötel d. J. for around 1750 but is plausible for the earlier period too.

On 30th April 1703 the NCOs were ordered to wear red coats with blue cuffs and blue stockings on parade and on duty. [Mittheilungen]

In 1708 bayonets and cartridge pouches are mentioned.

Between 1709 and 1711 Officers of the infantry carried spontoons and swords. The NCOs had halberds. In 1709 2000 flintlocks (mounted with brass) were acquired at a price of 12 Marks and 18 Schillings each and handed out to the infantry in 1710. [Galperin]

In 1710 an Imperial commission prescribed new uniforms and equipment. The hat became a tricorn with 5 ¾ inch brim, on the left a black ribbon with a button over a black cockade, the officer’s hat was edged in gold. Artillery and dragoons received similar hats.

1710 saw the cut of the uniform changed but the red/blue colours retained. The grenadier company was abolished but each company retained several grenadiers (around a quarter of the men). [Mittheilungen]

On 17th Sept. 1710 the officers were newly uniformed to differentiate them from the NCOs: coat, waistcoat and breeches of red “lacken” (a closely sheared cloth treated to render it waterproof) with


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simple gilded metal buttons, dark strained stockings (blue or black?), hat with gold lace, sword with hanger. The officers complained that the gorgets previously worn were not big enough to be noticed and demanded red/white silk sashes. This was refused and they retained the old gorgets. [Mittheilungen]

The oldest coloured illustration of the town soldiers is from the year 1709. (see plate). Knötel illustrated the infantry and artillery of 1709 after this picture. It shows them in a style of uniform which was in fashion around 1690-99, namely many small buttons on the coat, round cuffs with Brandenbourg slits going up to the elbow, a white neckcloth hanging loose at the front and a low-brimmed, round hat. Presumably the uniform of 1710 was more modern with slit cuffs, fewer and larger buttons, the neckcloth tied at the back and, as mentioned above, a tricorn hat. We have used the Knötel plate as a basis for our illustration but changed the colour of the neckcloth to black, as recorded in 1703. Knötel also shows a figure with a halberd, which he describes as an Offizier, but this is probably a misprint for Unteroffizier (non-commissioned officer/N.C.O.) since he also has loose hair and no gorget. We have no record of the grenadier cap earlier than 1727 but it may be assumed that the earlier ones were of cloth.

Note that the blue of the infantry facings and stockings in Hamburg was always a very light blue. The red of the men’s coats would have been red-madder.

In 1727 the uniform was renewed and the men now wore false gold lace bordering their hats. The grenadiers received new caps. These were 27 cm tall with a moulded brass shield showing the arms of the city and the letters “F.R.H.” (Freie Reichsstadt Hamburg = free imperial city of Hamburg). Around the back was a blue cloth crown of which the upper edge was scalloped and edged with yellow lace and decorated with 3 yellow metal grenades. The drummers had an oval shield with a drum instead of the middle grenade at the back. The bag was red with 3 yellow laces. Pompon white over red. [Schiers]

Flag of the Grenadier Company

The Flag of the grenadier company as carried from 29th April 1684 until its disbandment in 1711 is also illustrated after an original, which still existed in 1896. The cloth is crimson silk with arms, wreath etc. painted. The flagstaff below the flag was covered with white cloth. The brass nails have large round heads and are on a white tape. The simple point on the staff is of brass. At three places on the flagstaff there are crimson fringes. The staff has a lead foot. [Mittheilungen 1896 No. 10, article by Th. Muhsfeldt]

The arms of the town are in gold, including the windows of the building. (The actual arms of Hamburg show a white fortress on red) The red groundcolour can only be seen below the portcullis. The holly wreath is in natural colours and neither exactly round nor symmetric in shape. The grenades are black with golden flames.

The flintlocks on the flag are painted in natural colours, butt, shaft and ramrod brown, white metal fittings. The plug bayonets are in white metal. The grenade pouches and straps and the straps on the flintlocks are all vermilion red. The small buckles on the grenade pouches are white. The motto, the year 1684 and the ribbons on the wreath are all golden. The reverse of the flag is identical to the front (the letters of the motto are mirrored, i.e. the wrong way round).

Cavalry/Dragoons

In 1657 a company of horse had been raised and increased to 120 in 1675. After plans to expand the unit to 600 horse, on 25th Nov. 1679 the cavalry had been reduced to a company of 50 men.

In the face of the Danish threat in 1686 the military was considerably increased, according to the Mittheilungen the cavalry being raised to 2 companies of horse and 2 companies of dragoons.


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After the war the cavalry was rapidly reduced and by 1692 consisted of only one officer, an NCO and 12 troopers. By 1695 the cavalry had gradually disappeared, presumably because it had little use in the defence of a town. That same year it was ordered that 2 men of each infantry company were to serve as dragoons but this attempt was soon given up.

At the end of 1699 24 dragoons were chosen among the infantry but were only drawn together, equipped and mounted in 1700.

The dragoons received 300 flintlock pistols and 150 carbines (probably flintlocks with bayonets) between 1709 and 1711. At the same time they first received broadswords. This confirms their strength that originally stood at 140 in two companies and was raised to 170 in 1709. In 1710 the cut of the uniform was changed but the traditional colours were retained. The dragoons were dressed in red with blue linings as for the infantry. Except for the standard no difference in uniform between the two companies is recorded. The aiguillette and lace on saddlecloth etc. have been copied from an illustration by Knötel d. J. for around 1740 but would have been similar at the start of the century.

Guidon of Dragoons

The guidon of the 1st company of dragoons, carried from 26th August 1709 until 1716 is also described in the Mittheilungen 1896 No. 10, in the above-mentioned article by Th. Muhsfeldt. Once again, the description is after an original still existing at the time. The cloth was doubled white silk with a pattern of large flowers. The fringe was a mixture of white and gold threads. The arms, lions, motto and rays etc. were embroidered.

The staff was painted white and the cross-section had the form of a cross. Four iron bands were nailed on the raised parts with golden nails. The tip was gold in open work with the city arms. The tassels were white with gold.

The arms on the guidon were in yellow silk embroidery. The windows and the gate dark red. The outlines were in gold thread as were the outlines of the shield. The three square diamonds on the crown were red, the oval ones blue, the two lozenge shaped ones gold. The lions were gold with yellow tongues. The bases below the lions were green with gold outlines. The flames in the corners gold. Muhsfeldt does not explicitly describe the colour of the shield for the arms but it can only have been red.

The reverse is identical to the avers but the letters are correctly written, not mirrored.

The standard of the second company that was also handed over on 26th August 1709 has the same basic pattern but the cloth is red with a white stripe in the middle.

Artillery

In 1679 there was one company of artillery made up of Constables (artillery men) and workers. The general increase of strength in 1687 saw two artillery companies completing the armed force of the city but in 1700 the artillery was again reduced to one company of 200 men.

The contemporary illustration mentioned under the infantry above, also shows the artilleryman of 1709 in an entirely blue uniform.[Mittheilungen] The artillery was equipped with “Hirschfänger” (long hunting knives, often with sawblades) as sidearms in 1709/11. [Galperin]


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Bremen

Bremen thanked its wealth to its position as a harbour at the mouth of the river Weser and had achieved the status of a free city long before it was officially recognised as such. The Duchy of Bremen which surrounded the town was originally a bishopric which had been handed over to Sweden along with the bishopric of Verden in the Treaty of Westphalia 1648. It was taken by Denmark in 1712 and sold to Hanover in 1715, a status that was recognised by Sweden in 1719/20. The city of Bremen was not part of the bishopric but the cathedral and surrounding area was and formed an extra-territorial area within the town. The “Domfreiheit”, as it was called, belonged to the corresponding ruling power of the county until 1803. [Galperin]

Just about surrounded by Swedish territory the city of Bremen found itself under heavy pressure after the war and involved in repeated conflicts with Sweden. In the war of 1654 Bremen defended itself vigorously and in skirmishes lasting from March till November the Swedes made no progress. A renewed attempt in 1666 was more of a threat. The besieging army numbered 10000 men against which Bremen could only put 1513 infantry and 70 cavalry besides the Bürgerwehr or citizen soldiers. The Swedes had miscalculated their siege train and their artillery proved inadequate for the job of taking the town. The Bremen defenders even won sallies against the advance guards and the besiegers resorted to laying waste to the surrounding countryside. Bremen was of course not faced with the entire Swedish power but the general situation finally forced her submit to handing over the area of Bederkesa to Sweden in return for the recognition of her independence.

After having disbanded its forces in 1648, the subsequent Swedish wars lead to an increase of the army to 1600 men. Around 1680 it settled down to a strength that was to remain until 1810. The city’s armed forces consisted of an infantry regiment of three companies totalling 600-700 men. Cavalry no longer existed and the artillery had 80 men. In 1702 a grenadier company was formed. [Galperin]

The council agreed the introduction of flintlocks on 10th August 1681 and the cost was passed on to the soldiers with an off-reckoning of 24 Grote monthly. 50 men wanted to keep their old weapons but this was not allowed, causing all the more pain when in December 1681 it was discovered that the new weapons were often defective. They had to be exchanged and , since the number was not sufficient, private acquisition was again allowed. Only in 1710 did the troops receive uniform weapons. [Galperin]

Unfortunately we have no record of the uniforms of the Bremen military in the early period but it was probably the Hanseatic red coat lined white. The first illustrations from the middle of the 18th century show a black hat or grenadier caps with red bags, white metal shield with gold grenade and coat of arms. Pompon white over red. Coat red with white linings, cuffs, lapels, buttons, waistcoat, breeches, gaiters.

The arms of Bremen show a white key on a red ground.


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Sources and Bibliography

Files of the Geheimen and Hauptarchivs at Schwerin, vol. II.A, Vol.III.A, Vol. III B., Vol. IV, Vol. V, Vol. VI, Vol. VII, Fasc. 1, Vol. VII Fasc. 2, Kasse Vol. I, Kreissachen, Generalia 1675-1703.

Author’s own drawings made in the historical museum of Hamburg.

Jean Belaubre “Les Triomphes de Louis XIV” privately published 1970/71.

Jean Belaubre « Les Armées qui combattirent Louis XIV » privately published Paris, 1976

Joh. Jacob Hartmann “Caesar Aquilinius, Außführliche Historie des jetzigen Bayerischen Kriegs” Cologne, 1703 and 1705 (2 vols.)

Europaeischer Mercurius, vols. 12-25, Leyden, Amsterdam 1701-1714.

Ratzenhofer, Gustav „Geschichte der Feldzüge des Prinzen Eugen“, vol. VI, Vienna 1879.

Georg Tessin “Geschichte des Mecklenburgischen Militärwesens 1648-1718” thesis, Rostock 1922

Georg Tessin „Mecklenburgisches Militär in Türken und Franzosenkriegen 1648-1718“ in the series „Mitteldeutsche Forschungen Band 42“, Böhlau Verlag, Cologne 1966.

Georg Tessin “Mecklenburgische Uniformen vor 1718” in “Zeitschrift für Heereskunde” 1980, page 75-77.

Hermann Grote “Stammtafeln Europäische Herrscher und Fürstenhäuser” (The data on the history of the house of Mecklenburg and arms are taken from it), Leipzig 1877, reprint ISBN 3-8262-0710-6)

F. Hasse „Mecklenburgisches Militärwesen“ in Zeitschrift für Heeres- und Uniformkunde, July, August, September 1935

Kamptz „Mecklenburgisches Reichskontingent und Römermonate“, Neubrandenburg, 1793

Klaus-Ulrich Keubke “Kleine Militärgeschichte Mecklenburgs”, Verlag Stock & Stein, 1995.

Krause „Mecklenburgische Infanterieuniform unter Herzog Karl Leopold“, Mecklenburgisches Jahrbuch 79, Schwerin 1914

Schäfer „Mecklenburgisches Militärwesen vor und in den Freiheitskriegen“, Mecklenburgisches Jahrbuch 80, Schwerin 1915

Sell „Mecklenburgische Truppen im dänischen Dienste“, „Mecklenburgisches Jahrbuch 52, Schwerin 1887

Thomas Schwark „Lübecks Stadtmilitär im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert“, Archiv der Hansestadt Lübeck, Reihe B, Band 18.

Vitense „Geschichte von „Mecklenburg“, Gotha 1920

Wagner „Herzog Christian Louis I 1658-92“, Berlin 1906

Ten Raa “Het Staatsche Leger 1568-1795“, Den Haag 1950, 1956

Otto Flämig “Monogramme auf Münzen, Medaillen, Marken, Zeichen und Urkunden”, Klinkardt & Biermann, Braunschweig, 1968 (This was used for the monograms of the Dukes).


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Richard Knötel “Mittheilungen zur Geschichte der militärischen Tracht” especially edition of 1896 No. 8: “Einiges über Hamburger Stadtsoldaten” by Th. Muhsfeldt. [Mittheilungen]

Richard Knötel „Uniformkunde“ plate on Hamburg 1709.

Ulrich Schiers “Zeitschrift für Heereskunde” Nr. 402, Okt./Dez. 2001, article “Helme des Hamburger Bürgermilitärs” [Schiers]

Peter Galperin “In Wehr und Waffen – Wehrbürger, Söldner und Soldaten in Oldenburg und den Hansestädten”, Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 3-87943-963-X [Galperin]

Joachim Ehlers “Die Wehrverfassung der Stadt Hamburg im 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts”, 1966 Boldt Verlag, Boppard.


41

Index

Adolf Frederick................................................... 3

Barner............................................................ 9, 19

Berckholz .................................................... 16, 21

Bergholtz......................................... 24, 26, 27, 33

Bibow.............................................................. 6, 8

Bohlen......................................................... 18, 32

Brandenburg.......................... 3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14

Bremen.............................................................. 41

Brunswick ..................................... 4, 5, 11, 29, 30

Buchwald ...................... 16, 17, 22, 24, 26, 27, 32

Buggenhagen......................................... 19, 21, 30

Carl Leopold ..................................... 3, 29, 30, 31

Christian Louis.................................. 3, 7, 8, 9, 14

du Puits ....................................................... 19, 21

Ende .................................................................... 6

Flohr.................................... 24, 26, 27, 29, 31, 32

Frederick William..... 3, 13, 14, 15, 19, 22, 29, 30

Garde zu Pferde .................................... 10, 11, 16

Gustav Adolf........................................... 3, 13, 14

Güstrow................. 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 22

Güstrow, Landmiliz .................................... 21, 24

Gyldenlove.......................................................... 7

Halberstadt .................................. 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 32

Hamburg ........................................................... 36

Jaroslaw ............................................................ 29

Johann V ............................................................. 3

Johann-Albert II .................................................. 3

Kahlden................................................. 29, 30, 32

Kohlhans ..................................................... 22, 30

Kraft ...................................................... 29, 31, 33

Krassow....... 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 32

Lacy................................................................... 30

Lauenburg ....................................... 5, 6, 9, 10, 11

Leibregiment ..................................................... 32

Lilienstreng ........................................... 29, 31, 33

Lilienstreng, Dragoner ...................................... 33

Lower Saxon Circle....................................... 4, 13

Lower Saxony ........................................... 3, 4, 11

Lübeck..................................... 5, 6, 11, 14, 35, 42

Lüneburg ........................................... 3, 14, 17, 34

Maltzahn........................ 19, 20, 21, 24, 26, 27, 33

Matrikel ......................................................... 5, 11

Mecklenburg-Strelitz..................................... 3, 34

Meerheimb .......................... 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 32

Montecuccoli....................................................... 9

Oesterling .............................................. 13, 14, 32

Ratzeburg .................................................. 3, 4, 11

Rostock...................................... 10, 14, 19, 21, 29

Schack ....................................................... 6, 7, 31

Schwerin, arms of................................................ 4

Schwerin, Curt Christoph von......... 20, 26, 27, 29

Schwerin, Detlev von ............................ 16, 26, 27

Schwerin, diocese.............................................. 11

Schwerin, Duchy ........... 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17, 29

Schwerin, Duke ................................................. 14

Schwerin, GM von ............................................ 30


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Schwerin, grenadiers......................................... 22

Schwerin, Landmiliz ....................... 21, 24, 29, 30

Schwerin, Lt. Gen. ...................................... 17, 21

Schwerin, Major ............................................... 16

Schwerin, regt. .................... 17, 18, 22, 24, 32, 33

Schwerin, town ............................... 16, 18, 21, 30

St. Gotthard......................................................... 6

Stargard............................................................... 3

Strassburg.......................................................... 10

Sweden............................ 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 18, 32

Tilly....................................................... 29, 30, 33

Tilly, Landmiliz ................................................ 30

Trabants............................................................. 26

Turenne ............................................................... 8

Uffeln .............................................. 22, 24, 27, 32

Valinsky ................................................ 29, 30, 33

Viat.............................................................. 29, 33

Vietinghoff ........................................................ 29

Waldow ................................................. 28, 29, 32

Wallenstein.......................................................... 4

Wedell ............................................. 21, 27, 28, 32

Wismar .......................................................... 4, 11

Zülow .............................................. 29, 31, 32, 33

Mecklenburg

Documents

Transcript of Mecklenburg